There are two distinct views on how to derive a Corporate Strategy – you can either look inside-out or outside-in.

The first derives a strategy by starting to look at a corporation’s own core competencies. It then reviews the requirements of the future when industry groups might reconfigure, evolute or revolute. The latter derives a strategy by looking outside first and reviewing what competitors in the market do and align them with your own corporation.

Both views could be improved by taking a third perspective into consideration – the communications view: If one looks at the competition, it requires outside-in the ability to interpret these activities. And if one looks at the core competencies inside first and reviews the future of your industry, it requires the ability to feed back inside-out into your company.